Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $7.57 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,256 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,123 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $7,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $230.41 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $245.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.